


Politics

by Legume_Shadow



Series: Whispers (Prequels to the Echoes Series) [2]
Category: Peacemaker Kurogane
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-20
Updated: 2014-09-20
Packaged: 2018-02-18 04:25:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2335229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Legume_Shadow/pseuds/Legume_Shadow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With the arrival of Perry's Black Ships and the opening of Japan to foreign trade, the country has started to slowly slide towards violent changes.  A year has passed since Okita Soujirou enrolled at Kondou Isami's school.  He returns to his home to find that not only have politics around his family changed, but his own thoughts and feelings about them have changed as well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Politics

**Author's Note:**

> First Published: AO3, September 2014. All copyrights apply to the appropriate parties and no profit is being made from this fanwork.
> 
> Please note that this chapter was not beta-ed. Apologies in advance for any grammatical and spelling errors, along with OOC moments.

**Part 2: Politics**

_Summer 1854_

 

Even though the rice-picker's hat was shading Soujirou from most of the sun's light, it was not doing much to keep the heat off of him. Sweat rolled down his forehead, neck, and back as he and his companion continued to walk, with him half-hoping that they were near home. Not that he minded the company he kept, but the summer heat was making him very uncomfortable. He'd rather be sweating it out, working on his techniques and practicing than just _walking_ through the streets and letting the sun take his strength away.

At long last, he saw familiar trees lining the road that would take the two of them to the villa, and as much as he wanted to run up and startle the guards as he used to do, time away had tempered him and he settled for continuing at the pace he was walking with. As the two of them approached, he could see the guards at the entrance watching them with hawk-like eyes and lifted his rice-picker hat up so that his face was fully showing.

“Oh! It's the young master!” one of the guards exclaimed before turning and knocking quite loudly on the wooden door, announcing his arrival along with his guest. Soujirou's lips twitched upwards in a slight smile as he heard the familiar exasperated sigh of Hijikata walking next to him. He too had wanted to return without the fanfare, but this was home, and there were rules that even he could not escape from.

However, that smile on his face turned into a frown as he saw both his brother-in-law and sister emerge from within the confines of the villa, accompanied by what looked like to be a small army of servants. Moments later, both he and Hijikata were swarmed by the servants, jostled around until they had been moved into the villa. He bit back a sigh of exasperation at the concerned antics of the servants and nearly batted hands away, finding himself strangely not liking what the servants used to do whenever he came home sweating and dirty from a day's play. However, out of the corner of his eyes, he caught the stoic but resigned look Hijikata had on his face as the tall man simply stood where he was and allowed the servants to do their work.

The people at Kondou's dojo inspired him, but it was Hijikata who made the most impact on him – from helping him master the basics to readily agreeing to be his sparring partner at even odd hours of the night. Soujirou was careful never to allow Hijikata to be disappointed in him, wanting only the highest of approval from the man, and so he resigned himself to the clutches of the servants.

He knew that his sister and brother-in-law were going to want to talk about what had happened to him in the past year, and he hoped that it would not take long. To him, returning home to the villa was something that he did not want to do – wanting to stay at the dojo and continue training, but it had been Hijikata, along with Kondou, both of whom had suggested that he return to see his family to let them know that he was doing all right.

It was only for Hijikata that he agreed to this. He loved his family dearly, but he craved the freedom that studying in the dojo offered – freedom from servants who would not let him out of their sights unless he took drastic measures to escape, and freedom to do whatever he wanted to and just be a child at heart.

* * *

_A few hours later..._

 

She could feel the young boy's curious eyes focused on her, tracking every move she made while tending the the small crop garden. Though it was not her duty to actually do this sort of work, whenever the lady of the house did not need her for the moment, she had eventually found herself gardening. She had been living here for the better part of the year, seeing only her husband three times since beginning of this assignment and her daughter once. However, even with her missing her family, she did not dwell upon the heartache, for she grew up with the knowledge that she would never have a normal life and that successful completion of an assignment was greater than familial duties or ties. That mentality governed how the Oniwabanshuu operated and it was part of the reason why the Shogun himself fully endorsed their organization and all of its activities.

“May I help you, young master?” she politely asked after she had placed the small trowel down and stood up from kneeling on the ground.

The lady of the house, along with her husband, their guest, and the young master of the house had been talking for the better part of a few hours since the arrival of the young master and his guest. Now though, with the sun setting, casting its fading golden rays of warmth into the coming night sky, it seemed that at least the young master had been released from the stuffy confines of the house.

“If you would pardon my presumption, but you do not look like one of the ordinary gardeners or servants that my brother-in-law or sister employed,” the young boy said without arrogance. “You hold yourself more like shinobi, which, given that you are not startled like so many others by my appearance, seems so. Who are you?”

Hiding the smile at just how acutely aware the young boy was of who she was, and though she had adopted the stance of a weary gardener, clearly the boy had hung around Aya and her friends too much to have picked up upon the subtleties. It was through her daughter's wild and silly tales of her adventures in the slums of Edo before she had been sent off for specialized training, that she, Sakura, had learned of just how sharp and precocious of a mind young Okita Soujirou had.

Knowing that it was useless and an insult to the young boy's intelligence to deny what she was, she politely bowed and said, “I am Sakura, young master. I am under the employ of your brother-in-law and sister.” There was no need for her to mention her family name, for it was not usual for any shinobi to introduce him or herself with a family name. It would also further stave off any questions from the young boy about where Aya and her friends had gone for the past year.

In her opinion, social classes had to be maintained, and now that the young master had returned for what looked to be a brief break, she could sense that the head of the Okita family wanted to start utilizing young Soujirou in more political matters with regards to the family. If Soujirou maintained ties, even friendly ones with shinobi such as her daughter, Aya, then eventually it would be detrimental to the young boy's social standing. She, Sakura, was determined not to let that happen. Shinobi worked in the shadows – they could never walk in the light, no matter how much they wanted to; and the Shogunate samurai they served would never know how many of their dirty secrets were kept from the light of day.

There was an even more urgent need to keep those secrets safe. The arrival of the Black Ships last year and again just recently had caused a political minefield to bloom in Edo. Rumors were flying from everywhere that the many lords of the lands were unhappy with the Shogun's response and the signing of trade documents between America and Japan.

“Hello,” the young master politely greeted, surprising her by giving her a small bow and straightening before he continued to say, “I am Okita Soujirou. I thank you for all the hard work that you have done so far.”

“Young master!” one of the servants near the villa called out, causing both her and the young boy to look towards the servant.

Sakura heard a slightly frustrated sigh emerge from the young boy's mouth, before he suddenly said, “I apologize for doing this to you, Sakura-san...”

Not a moment later, out of the corner of her eyes, she saw him suddenly run away, towards the stone walls that ringed around the villa. Startled not only by the swiftness of the young boy's speed, but also his agility, she snatched only air as moments later, watched with half-amusement, half-fascination as the boy scaled a maple tree growing near the wall with ease before using that as a jump point to climb over the wall.

Moments after the boy had completely disappeared, Sakura heard the guards at the entrance scramble, only to hear them stop after a few moments of running as they tried to catch the boy. She smiled to herself, at least the boy was kind enough to apologize for the trouble he was about to cause her for not managing to keep him from running away. No one had ever done that before, and it touched her to know that there were decent people in the world who perhaps, did not care for class status.

* * *

Hijikata quietly sighed to himself as his eyes remained closed for the moment, content on just listening to the chaos that Soujirou caused in the wake of his fleeing. Though his spine was twinging in pain with just how still he was holding himself while sitting in seiza, he ignored the pain. His legs had already gone numb, but that was also ignored.

Social protocols, especially since he was only a commoner, prevented him from voicing his discomfort. He had only spoken when asked a direct question by Soujirou's family, for it was most definitely not his place to add any unwanted comments. Truth be told, he wasn't even sure if the way he acted in front of the Okita family was proper. Though his sister had tried to instill in him all the necessary common courtesies that went with how a commoner was supposed to act around samurai and lords, Hijikata wasn't sure if even his sister knew what was correct or not.

He opened his eyes, just as he caught the exasperated shake of Okita Rintarou's head, while Soujirou's sister, Okita Mitsu, had dissappeared, most likely fetching servants to go after the boy. Everything around him, even in the spartan room that he and the master and mistress of the house were sitting in, screamed wealth. The tatami mats were neatly cared for, and there was nary a dirty spot on the walls. The few servants he had seen, after he had been cleaned up from the journey, were all polite, but none of them looked fearful at their master and mistress.

It had merely been fate that day when he first met Soujirou, having seen glimpses of the boy following him all around the poorer sections of Edo. That time had been his first time in the city proper, having grown up in Hino and peddled medicine to many small villages and town, never setting foot into an enormous city before. It had been his friend, Yamanami Keisuke, who had dragged him to Kondou's dojo to study, and it had been Kondou who had asked him to go into the city to buy some needed items.

His journey around the poorer sections of Edo, looking for the specific store that Kondou wanted the items brought from, had garnered him some rumors about gangs and thugs, but it also attracted the attention of little Soujirou. Though untrained, he could see that the boy had incredible potential and skill, especially during their second encounter, when he had clearly seen the boy mimic and successfully execute a variation of the _Hirasegan_ form without even knowing how it was done.

Now though, he could see that Soujirou clearly did not want to be back at his family's house – fleeing when he had been given a short break from sitting for so long was probably the best option in Soujirou's mind. He wondered if he should volunteer to go out and after the boy, but from what he could tell in just the expression that Okita Rintarou carried, Soujirou would eventually return.

“I apologize for that incident, Hijikata-san,” Okita said after a moment. “It seems that there is still a rebellious streak within him. I had thought that time away from here would temper it, but I should have known that it is not in his nature to want to listen to the dry politics of his family.”

“On behalf of the Kondou Dojo, I humbly apologize for not tempering his nature,” Hijikata replied, keeping the surprise from his face. He had not realized just how high of expectations the Okita family had placed upon him and the dojo to calm the boy down.

“No, no,” Okita said. “I'm sure he's better off studying kenjutsu. It is a good outlet for his energetic nature. Perhaps in the future, when he is older, he will finally realize that I need his help as our family representative here in Edo. With the chaos created by the Black Ships from last year and this past spring, there were many things I needed to attend to back in the Okita family's ancestral lands. I have been neglecting my duties in Edo to my Shogun, though Mitsu has managed to pick up a few of those duties. I was hoping that time away from here would help Soujirou, and he would eventually become the representative of the familiy in Edo while I attended to matters back home.”

Hijikata remained silent, unsure as to what to say to the master of the house and the candid remarks that had been said. He wanted to voice his agreement with Okita – the Black Ships had caused a large furor among even the commoners, and many had started to flock to dojos dotting Edo, wanting to learn to fight and how to defend themselves. Kondou had welcomed the new students, and practice had grown a lot more crowded, but Hijikata was not liking some of the things said by some of the newer students. Some of them were talking about the incompetence of the Shogun and his response towards the Black Ships. Fortunately, those had only been a few people, and they had mostly kept to themselves with those thoughts.

“I can see that Soujirou admires you greatly, Hijikata-san,” Okita said after a few moments of silence. “He will listen to you more than he does me or his sister. I'll continue letting him study at the dojo, but in return, if you could please guide him, teach him, and help him grow into a man that will not neglect his duties to the Shogun...”

Feeling greatly embarrassed and honored at the same time with such a request, Hijikata immediately bowed, saying, “I shall not fail you, sir.” He meant it, and was determined to do his utmost to ensure that young Okita Soujirou, would become one of the best men in all of Japan.

* * *

Soujirou ran as fast as he could, dodging and ducking around people that included merchants, families, patrolmen, and other samurai. Even though he was several streets away from the villa, he continued to run, careful not to run into anyone, for if he stopped in the crowds, there was always a chance that servants or even the guardsmen would catch up to him. His best chance to actually break free and relax away from the stilfling confines of the villa and his family was to head towards his old haunts.

Strangers shouted after him, calling him a rascal and to slow down, but he ignored them as he gave a whoop that was combined from both laughter and exhilaration. Hours without end, he had answered everything that his brother-in-law and sister had asked, with input from occasionally Hijikata. It was only when he started fidgeting to get some feeling into his numb legs after sitting in seiza for so long that his sister had allowed him outside for a quick break.

He did not want to sit through another few hours of what was most likely going to be an incredibly dry discussion of what the household had done for the past year. The only things that interested him right now was kenjutsu and the freedom to do whatever he wanted. His brother-in-law had a good grasp of how things around the household worked and what needed to be done, so why try to bore him, Soujirou, with the details? He shook his head slightly to clear the thoughts and continued to run.

As soon as he passed into the poorer sections of Edo and saw at a familiar-looking tree, he stopped at the base of it, breathing hard, but feeling quite energized. Every person around the area paid no attention to him, and most just continued on with whatever they were doing. Anonymity and freedom were his to enjoy again.

“You were an awful hurry to get somewhere, Soujirou” a girl's cheerfully light voice suddenly said from beside him as he became aware that two people had approached so quietly that he did not hear them, much less sense them. However, it was not anyone with ill intent as he turned from staring at the canal and tree, straightening up and grinned as he saw his friends standing before him.

“Ayumu! Aya!” he greeted, his grin getting wider as the two girls, dressed in brightly colored yukatas, smiled. The smile remained on his face as he peered slightly to the side, seeing that a young boy was hiding behind Ayumu and was shyly peeking out. Giving a small wave to the boy, he watched as the young boy with spiky black hair shrank back a little further until Ayumu turned slightly and pulled the boy forward. “Hello,” he greeted.

“Hello,” the young boy hesitatingly said, looking down at his own feet while shifting slightly.

“This is my brother, Susumu,” Ayumu said, patting the boy on the head. “He's about seven years old and recently got permission from our trainers to finally be allowed out of the compound.” To the boy, she said, “Susumu, this is one of our friends, Okita Soujirou.”

“Pleased to meet you, Susumu-kun,” Soujirou said, bowing slightly towards the boy. He saw the boy's eyes go wide and turn towards Ayumu, and he frowned, puzzled at the strange reaction.

“Ah,” Ayumu said, giving a reassuring pat on her brother's head, “sorry. My brother's not used to people bowing towards him...”

“Oh,” he said, immediately crouching and offered an apology, saying, “I apologize for that, Susumu-kun. Please ignore what I just did.” He remembered that the first time he and the two girls met and became acquainted, it had taken roughly a year for all three of them to overcome the differential gulf of societal class etiquette rules that had been ingrained into them since birth. He had kept addressing both Ayumu and Aya with honorifics as had they to him until one day, he just finally dropped it, tired of maintaining such a strange societal distance between people he considered his friends.

Habits in meeting a new person had made him initiate that bow, even though Susumu was of the same class as Ayumu and Aya. He could only assume that the young boy had never had a samurai actually bow to him. Soujirou detested the label of 'high-born' or 'low-born' before the samurai status, for he considered any person who was a samurai equal. However, it was during his time spent at Kondou's dojo that he had heard and learned that the Tosa domain in the south maintained an extremely strict segregation between the 'high-born' and 'low-born' samurai classes.

Returning his attention to the boy, he saw Susumu mutely nod before turning his face slightly towards his sister's legs, and Soujirou stood back up, smiling as he then turned his attention to his friends. He had been briefly surprised at how much taller the two girls were (they now were a clear head taller than he was) and how much mature-looking their faces looked (he remembered their faces being more round like persimmons than oval-ish and peach-like), but it didn't matter. What mattered was the fact that his friends were here, at their usual meeting spot.

“Sorry that we didn't show up since last spring. They sent us to train outside of Edo,” Ayumu chirped, and Soujirou could see the happiness and relief in her eyes. He could only assume that whatever training she had been sent to, it had been tough. He was curious as to what the training was, but even though Ayumu's eyes spoke about relief, Soujirou saw past that and saw the wariness behind it – he would not press her for details. “I've been back here for two weeks now, but Aya just returned about two days ago,” the girl continued.

Soujirou glanced over at Aya, who merely nodded quietly. He would have expected her to say something about training or just make a random comment, but this new, strangely quiet personality that she had taken on puzzled him slightly. Though Ayumu was always the more boisterous of the two girls, Aya always had a reaction, whether it be laughter or glee, or disgust at something icky.

Something in Aya's eyes told him that whatever training she had been through, it was very rough. However, Soujirou found it strange that though her face was still youthful, still childish, her eyes seemed to carry more age than he thought possible. He would definitely not press her for details, but he hoped that somewhere in those dark eyes of hers, the bubbly, curious, and stubborn girl he had known, was still there.

“So...what were you running for?” Ayumu asked.

“Rintarou-niisan was boring me to death with what was going with the household in the year I was gone,” he said, sighing.

“Where'd you go?” Aya asked, perking up.

“Kondou Isami-sensei's dojo,” he proudly said. “I am there to study Tennen Rishin Ryu.”

“Oooooh,” Ayumu cooed. “I heard of the dojo before. That's so cool!”

“But what about your academic studies, Soujirou?” Aya interrupted, frowning as she folded her arms over her chest. “I thought your brother-in-law was going to enroll you in a school or hire a tutor. Didn't you say over a year ago that you wanted to personally meet the Shogun and to do that, you needed to be the smartest person in all of Edo?”

Soujirou made a face at that statement, clearly remembering his declaration to the two girls. However, that was last year; before he had met Hijikata, before he had received his first sword, and before his family had allowed him to go study at Kondou's dojo. Last year, he had been a naïve boy, a child with high hopes, dreams, and aspirations who didn't know what to do in his life. Enrolling at the dojo and learning kenjutsu opened his eyes, allowing him to see the injustices of the world and just how much separated those of the samurai status with the commoners.

“I would rather be the best swordsman Japan's ever had,” he stated. “If I do not ever meet the Shogun, I am fine with that.” _I would rather give up my samurai status and service to the Shogun than ever give up being a swordsman._

He did not voice that last thought, knowing that even among friends, it was a dangerous sentiment to say out loud. He had seen how worried some of the commoners were when the Black Ships showed up last year, and their subsequent return a few months later. The fact that foreigners had forced their Shogun to sign a treaty made him angry, but he had channeled that anger into improving his skills at the dojo, determined to protect his friends and family from the danger.

He had also overheard the late-night discussions and speculations that Kondou had with both Hijikata and Yamanami about what the Shogun's response had been against the Black Ships and the unfair treaty. He had heard them discuss reliable rumors that the Shogun, indeed, rather than allow his people to be slaughtered by the Black Ships, had signed the treaty to buy time for Japan and her people to start raising arms and get ready to push back invaders. Though there were no invaders and the unexpected second meeting had been held at the sleepy little fishing village of Yokohama, Soujirou could see that by signing the treaty, the Shogun was effectively going to allow the import of weapons that would eventually be used against the foreigners.

Hijikata had recently introduced him, Soujirou, to reading Sun Tzu's _The Art of War_. Though the kanji was incredibly difficult to read, much less understand, Soujirou had diligently read portions of it each night. Slowly, he was beginning to understand the political situation that Japan faced and how their Shogun was doing all that he could to stop it. However, it also made his distaste for the politics that governed his family and what they did all the more great. Being a ronin was starting to appeal to him the more he stayed with his family, but for the sake of his knowledge and his family's honor, he could not bring himself to cut ties...at least not yet. He was only ten years old...not yet an adult.

“Soujirou!”

He blinked and looked up, flushing red in embarrassment as he realized that he had completely forgotten about his friends and had just stood there, thinking. Laughing sheepishly, he scratched the back of his head and said, “Sorry!”

Ayumu gave a sigh of exasperation and said, “So anyways, what do you want to do?”

“Are there any open training sessions today?” he asked, with a hopeful look on his face. He always enjoyed watching shinobi trainees practice their skills, whether or not it was blending in with crowds, or just sparring with each other while trying to avoid obstacles. There were always strange comments being thrown out by either Ayumu or Aya about the trainees, pointing out incorrect forms, or just openly wincing in sympathy towards trainees who were getting berated by their instructors.

“No,” Aya answered, shaking her head. “But I found this neat place to explore on my way home. It's a little ways away from here, but if we hurry, I think we can explore the entire place before nightfall.”

“Lets go then!” Ayumu crowed, and not a moment later, the four of them dashed off, with Aya leading the way.

Though Soujirou occasionally glanced back to see that little Susumu was doing a good job of keeping up with the three of them, it seemed that there was still a competitive streak in Aya, and she was not slowing down for the smallest child in their group. Practicing at Kondou's dojo had given him more strength and stamina and he was not as tired as he usually would have been, running at the speed in which his friend was running. In fact, he thought he could go faster, and with a mischievous grin creeping up on his face, he increased his speed, passing by his friend with a bark of laughter.

Weaving himself around the crowds of people on the streets, he had no idea where they were going, but he didn't care. Behind him, he could hear the indignant half-shout of Aya and heard her attempt to increase her own running speed. Glancing back, he saw her giving him a very annoyed look before her eyes suddenly flew wide open in surprise. It was too late for Soujirou, though, and two steps later, just as he was turning his head back to the front, he slammed into someone.

Tumbling backwards, he instinctively tucked himself into a ball as he hit the ground and rolled back into a crouch and stood back up, hands absently grabbing empty air on his side where a bokken would be. It was among the first things that Kondou and Hijikata had drilled into him – to always be ready for a fight, except this time, he was empty-handed. The second thing that had been drilled into him was that if he had no weapons on him, use his fists and legs. So he drew himself up and curled his hands into fists, ready to defend himself against any retaliatory attacks that might befall him.

However, his fighting instincts died down as he saw before him, the man that he had slammed into, still sitting on the ground, looking just as surprised as he did. Dressed in drab colors, the man had dropped both his long cloth bag that contained what Soujirou could only presume to be shinai and bokken, along with the larger bag that most likely contained practice armor and protectors. Strangely, instead of the usual topknot and long hair that most men sported, the man had short, almost curly-wave hair that was tied into a stubby half-tail.

“Ita-ta-ta-ta-tai,” the man muttered, rubbing a smarting back, and Soujirou immediately felt bad. He hadn't meant to hurt the strange-looking man.

Lowering his arms as he heard his three companions catch up to him, he bowed deeply towards the man, saying, “Please forgive me, sir. I did not mean to bump into you.”

A hearty laughter greeted his words and he looked back up to see that instead of being furious, the man was openly laughing before picking himself up. “It should be me, young master, that should be apologizing to you,” the man said, bowing almost as deep, if not deeper towards him. “A _kashi_ samurai such as I should know his place among the young _joshi_ samurai children that run around here in Edo.”

Soujirou stammered, unsure as to why the man was indicating a great difference between the low and high-born samurai when the divide in Edo blurred the lines. He realized that it was because of how he was dressed – his sister had dressed him in fine-quality clothes for the hours-long discussion, instead of the usual clothes he wore whenever he was out and about. He had forgotten to change clothes. However, he managed to quickly compose himself, not wanting to draw anymore attention and said, “Um...all is forgiven, um...”

“Sakamoto Ryouma,” the man said.

“Ah,” he answered, “All is forgiven, Sakamoto-san,” he said. “Please, you do not need to keep your head down.” A moment's hesitation came over the strange-looking samurai, but the samurai seemed to shrug it off before straightening, with a smile on his face. Feeling that it was improper to not conclude the introductions, Soujirou said, “I am pleased to meet your acquaintance, Sakamoto-san. I am Okita Soujirou. If you do not mind me asking, your dialect...where are you from?”

He had heard different accents from the way his friends spoke, especially Aya's Kyoto-accent, but this dialect and accent that Sakamoto Ryouma spoke in, was new to him...and as strange as the samurai. Most of the people that his brother-in-law and sister spoke to spoke with an Edo lilt, thus is was very rare that he heard other accents, even when running through various areas in the great city.

“Ah, I'm from Tosa,” Sakamoto answered. “I am here with permission from my clan to study Hokushin Ittou Ryu at the Chiba Dojo.”

Soujirou's eyes lit up. He had heard of the Chiba Dojo before and of the sword style – at least two members of Kondou's school occasionally practiced the sword style in addition to with practicing with those who learned Tennen Rishin Ryu. He had always found it very fun to spar against Toudou Heisuke and Yamanami Keisuke whenever the two would stay for a few weeks at Kondou's dojo.

“However, I regret that I must be going now, young master,” Sakamoto said, giving him another bow. “I will be late to practice if I stay.”

“Perhaps if we ever meet up again, I would like to spar against you, Sakamoto-san,” Soujirou said, returning the bow. “I am currently studying Tennen Rishin Ryu at Kondou Isami's dojo and two of our members have studied the style you study. It was always fun for me to spar against them.”

“Ah, well, perhaps in the future then. Best of luck on your studies,” Sakamoto boisterously said while nodding quite enthusiastically. “Goodbye.”

Soujirou watched as the strange-looking samurai walked off, with a carefree attitude about him. Just that brief talk with a fellow kenjutsu practitioner made him miss the atmosphere in the dojo, where he could just be himself and forget about the outside world. How Sakamoto Ryouma went through life with such a carefree attitude about him, fascinated Soujirou, but he knew that in being shackled to his family and their political obligations, and to the stifling atmosphere of Edo, he could never have the freedom he wanted.

“Bit odd, isn't he?” he heard Aya ask as she stepped up beside him.

“Yes,” he replied, before remembering why he had been running in the first place. “Let us see this new place that you wanted to show us, Aya.”

* * *

Night had long fallen by the time Soujirou had returned to the villa. It was in the middle of setting out tea for Mitsu, Rintarou, and their guest, Hijikata Toshizou, that the partition slid open. Sakura was glad that she had already placed the last of the tea down on to the tatami mat before lifting a hand to cover her mouth, partially to hid the smile, and partially to hide her surprise at just how _filthy_ Soujirou looked as the boy shuffled in. Twigs, brambles, leaves, caked mud, and dirt streaking whichever way covered the boy and his formerly nice clothes.

The boy immediately sat himself in seiza near the entrance, allowing the nighttime breeze to float in and bring a strong, earthy smell into the room. “I am home,” the boy said as he bowed, though Sakura could hear a slight cheekiness to the greeting.

It was Rintarou who reacted first, sighing loudly as Sakura saw him place a hand to his forehead, shaking his head slightly. Mitsu just looked at her younger brother, half horrified, and half wanting to laugh but not knowing if it was appropriate or not. On the other hand, Hijikata had merely closed his eyes, though Sakura could read exasperation off of the man's body language. It was then, that she also remembered her duties and quickly excused herself from the room, allowing the family and their guest to discuss whatever they needed to in private.

However, even though she had made it half-way down from the room, her sensitive hearing picked up on what was being said, as she heard Rintarou say, “Before you go clean yourself, Soujirou-kun, your sister and I have agreed to let you continue studying at Kondou Isami's dojo until you come of age. After that, we will see what becomes of your future.”

She could help but openly smile as she heard the boy give a cheer, before quickly composing himself and apologizing to his family for his ecstatic outburst. Soujirou had surprised her, especially in mannerisms that were atypical of the usual mannerisms she encountered amongst those lords and ladies in Edo. Would he retain those mannerisms as he grew up? She knew that perhaps time would temper the boy, but what would it shape him into?

 

~*~*~*~

**Author's Note:**

> First off, I completely blame (and thank) the awesome NHK Taiga Drama: Ryoumaden for giving me the inspiration to continue with writing this prequel series. Real-life had consumed me after I had finished writing Remnants, and it was through finally sitting down and watching a few episodes of Ryoumaden (and finally getting to the theatre to watch Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno) that got me writing again.
> 
> In other notes, yes, this is a semi-Okita Souji-centric fic – at least in the first few stories it will be, before we jump into the Roshigumi's first years in Kyoto. The first few stories are there to shape and give the background to the events of 1863, but the entire series of fics gives the background for the sequel to Remnants.
> 
> The Art of War...I have a copy of it; in the original Chinese version, and a translated version. I actually wrote a paper, long ago, on a portion of it...the espionage portion of it in the context that is related to business. That was a weirdly fun paper to write, but no dissertation became of it. This is the second story in which I've actually made a mention of it, with the first being one of my Halo stories.


End file.
